Krissy Hancock's bookstore-cafe in Pine Hills, Ohio, is teaming up with the local library for a seasonal celebration, but someone is spiking the refreshments-with fatal results . . .
With autumn in full swing and Thanksgiving on the way, Krissy's supplying cider and her staff is manning the apple-bobbing booth at a town event. But then a patron dunks his head in-and doesn't come back up.
It soon becomes clear that Krissy's brew wasn't to blame. But with her policeman boyfriend looking to make detective, she can't help being drawn into the investigation. The victim was notorious for harassing not only her own bookstore but the library and the school for promoting supposedly scandalous literature-before someone censored him permanently. Now, Krissy will have to check out a stack of suspects to find a killer who's rotten to the core . . .
A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore cafe owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it's up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer-or escape before getting killed.
Krissy Hancock runs a bookstore-cafe in Pine Hills, Ohio, but she'll be setting up shop as a sleuth when she discovers a long-unsolved murder . . .
Krissy's helping a friend clean out her late mother's house when she learns that although the deceased died peacefully at an advanced age, her brother did not. In fact, Wade was killed more than thirty years ago, and the case was never closed. What surprises Krissy even more is that she has a personal connection to the story-her friend Rita was seeing Wade at the time, scandalizing the town with the couple's large age difference.
With an older Rita now part of Krissy's writing group-and another member with police experience-she starts digging up gossip, talking to the victim's local coffee klatsch, and trying to find real clues amid the old rumors. But things just seem to grow muddier as she fights to identify whodunit . . .
'CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER' by Carlene O'Connor
Siobhán O'Sullivan's hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she's pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics-or worse-that led to his death by chocolate?
'CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE' by Maddie Day
When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan's country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie's hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder . . .
'DEATH BY HOT COCOA' by Alex Erickson
A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore cafe owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it's up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer-or escape before getting killed.
Krissy Hancock and her pals are taking a coffee break-leaving their bookstore-cafe in Pine Hills, Ohio, and heading to a convention. But this road trip will be more dangerous than they expected . . .
Coffee lovers are gathering from far and wide, and Krissy, Rita, and Vicki are excited. But some of the attendees may need to switch to decaf, as a public argument breaks out soon after they check in and then a flavor competition leads to bitter feelings.
When the winner of the contest is beaned with a carafe full of cafe mocha, suspicions swirl-along with accusations of bribery. Was the dead man offering perks to the judges-or was something sinister going on in his personal life? This case is going to keep Krissy up all night long . . .
Bookstore-cafe owner Krissy Hancock has plenty to keep her occupied outside business hours, like preparing for her best friend's wedding and solving a murder . . .
Krissy is meeting Vicki's parents at the Pine Hills, Ohio, airport-it's the least she can do as maid of honor, even if her relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Patterson is a bit strained. Besides, her own dad is coming in on the same flight. But there are a few additional arrivals, too. Her father's brought a date-and the Pattersons, both actors, seem to have an entire entourage trailing behind them.
Uninvited guests are a headache-especially when one turns out to be, allegedly at least, the most important wedding planner in all the world. Though Vicki and Krissy have already made arrangements for a small, simple party, Vicki's snobby drama queen mother has her own ideas. Cathy the wedding planner is raring to go, possibly energized by the chocolate-covered espresso beans she compulsively munches. But while the caffeine keeps her awake, it doesn't keep her alive-and after Cathy chokes on an espresso bean after being hit in the head, Krissy has to find out who ended her supposedly stellar career . . .
Krissy Hancock is staying in her adopted hometown of Pine Hills, Ohio, for Christmas this year-and she even has a whole week off from her combination bookstore-cafe. But a killer is about to dampen her spirits . . . Unfortunately, Krissy's been roped into filling in for a sick elf in the local holiday musical extravaganza. With a demanding director, backstage gossip, and two men in fierce competition for the starring role, it isn't all sweetness and Christmas lights. Then a murder puts a stop to the production, and Krissy is faced with a pageant of suspects. Could her ex-boyfriend, a fellow elf, really be the culprit as the police are claiming? Or will the actor playing Santa be trading his red suit for an orange jumpsuit? When her behind-the-scenes investigation starts getting dangerous, the only thing Krissy really wants is to make it to Christmas dinner alive. But first she'll have to finish wrapping up this case . . .
While caught off-guard by her dad's presence, Krissy never dreamed he'd become the biggest murder suspect in town. But that's exactly what happens when James's boorish agent-a man he allegedly fired just hours earlier-is found cold and lifeless, a still-warm vanilla latte resting by his hand . . . With Pine Hills divided over her father's innocence and a fanatical fan keen on locking the author away for safe keeping, Krissy must end the madness and identify the real criminal-even if that means meeting an ex or two along the way. But as her social life becomes increasingly chaotic, Krissy may be caught in a case that's far too hot to handle . . .
As if a run-in with an old flame and a failed marriage proposal weren't enough to horrify Krissy for one night, a woman is found strangled to death in a room filled with ominous jack-o'-lanterns. All signs suggest a crime of passion-but when the hostess's jewelry disappears, malevolent intentions seem way more likely . . . With the estate on lockdown and a killer roaming the halls, Krissy must help Officer Paul Dalton investigate each nook, cranny, and guest for answers-while also confronting a few demons of her own. Someone has lots of skeletons in the closet, and Krissy better tread lightly to expose them . . .
Just before two dueling book clubs are set to square off at Death by Coffee, one of the competitors turns up dead-bludgeoned with the silver teapot that was to serve as the prize. Suspicion immediately falls on Krissy, who was seen skulking around town in dark clothes on the night of the murder. To clear her name and find the real killer, Krissy turns to an old flame, Officer Paul Dalton. But even Paul can't ignore the trail of evidence that seems to point in her direction. And with Krissy's personal nemesis, Officer John Buchannan, working overtime to pin the murder on her, it will take an amazing feat of detective work to close the book for good on an elusive killer . . .
When Krissy Hancock and her best friend Vicki decide to open a bookstore cafe in their new town of Pine Hills, they decide to call it "Death by Coffee," after Krissy's father's most famous mystery novel. Little do they know how well the name fits . . . On their very first day of business, Brendon Lawyer huffily takes his coffee . . . to the grave. It seems he had a severe allergy to peanuts . . . but how could there have been nuts in his coffee? And who stole his emergency allergy medication? Fortunately, Krissy's love of puzzles and mysteries leads her not only to Officer Paul Dalton, but also to many of her new neighbors, who aren't terribly upset that the book is closed on Brendon. But one of them is a killer, and Krissy needs to read between the lies if she wants to save her new store-and live to see how this story ends . . .
